T 4 From“Free China" to Democratic Taiwan To their political supporters they have little in common beyond wide smiles set in round faces.One is a Hokkien-speaking Taiwanese who has devoted her life to bringing Taiwan out of China's shadow.A political outsider,she fought her way into leadership with courage,hard work,and charisma.The other is a Mainlander,born into the Republic of China's political elite.The party he has served all his life calls itself the Chinese Nationalist Party,and its aspiration has always been to merge Taiwan and the Chinese mainland. But from a distance,these two politicians-Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu-bear a surprising resemblance.Both are politicians whose deepest joy comes from being among the people.Both are workaholics who have suffered strokes while in office-but refused to resign-and fully recovered.Both have pressed through great personal hardship-Chen Chu early in her career,when she went to prison for her political views,Hu late in his,when he stayed in politics after profound personal losses. Chen and Hu have something else in common,too:They are the ambi- tious mayors of large,complex communities whose interests and needs cannot be captured in a partisan sound bite.The mayors struggle every day with the practical challenges of governing;their careers span a time when adjusting to the changing environment has required tremendous flexibil- ity.For Hu,that has meant accommodating the popular preference for a Taiwan separate from China;for Chen,it has meant learning to live with- and even promote-a degree of integration between Taiwan and China far beyond her expectations only a decade ago.Their histories,including those adjustments,track the development of Taiwan's democratic politics, 59